I have always viewed the Oldsmobile as a poor man's Cadillac, or, in my case, the car of the son of a Cadillac owner. One year ago, never would I ever have thought of owning one. Eleven months ago...

I dislike my mother's Cadillac. I dislike GM. I dislike American cars in general. They are relatively expensive and boring in all things design and engineering. What is the American BMW? I rest my case.

So why do I have one? The resell value for these things is phenomenally horrible. Good for me, the second-hand buyer who plans to run this car well into the ground.

Yes, the price was the clincher. For 9k, I got a red 2003 Oldsmobile Alero GL2 sedan, 170 hp V6, 4-speed auto, power everything with 31k miles. I don't like red. I don't like automatic transmissions. BUT, the paint color I may change one day, and the transmission... well, I have ideas regarding that.

As I've implied, a little boring on the looks, but they grow on you. Though I have always seen spoilers as a wasted attempt to look cool, this car needs it. Look at the Alero's without spoilers and you will understand why. The low profile, 6-spoke factory rims, long nose and short tail give the Alero a remarkable sporty look without appearing pumped up on steroids. Enough about the exterior. You either like it or you do not, right?

The inside is pleasant. I am 6'1", 200 lbs on a good day. There are noticeable problems with headroom, not only in the back seat (where I must slouch to fit), but also in the drivers seat. Thankfully, I have the 8-way power adjusting seat. It took me a while to get comfortable (I thought I was going to drain the battery), but I found my niche. My knees are probably higher than they should be, and I am reclined more than I should be, but it works. If only I had a telescopic steering column.

My head my not be comfortable, but the rest of me felt right at home. The center console is very simple and makes for very friendly operation of stereo and climate controls. The stereo system sounds great. One cup holder is well placed. Be sure to remove your drink from the second cup holder BEFORE you shift into park. Armrest storage... yes.

Storage is lacking. The glove compartment doesn't even fit standard envelopes with finesse. The barely functional armrest storage, two nonfunctional door pockets, and teeny overhead "shelf" (where my ipod is and the moon-roof controls would be) add to the driver and passenger's usable space. There are 2 seat-back pockets where I have my registration, insurance, and atlas.

Rear seat leg room is a plus, even with the front seats all the way back. The Alero would seat 5 comfortably if the ceiling weren't so low. Rear passengers have their own fold out cup-holders, shoulder-strap seat belts, and nothing else (perfect for the little ones). The rear seats fold down 40-60, almost even with the trunk bed. Very convenient for moving across campus. The trunk is respectable in size and quite adequate for anything... within reason.

Talking about leg room, the Alero is not a compact car despite what they say. It is on average 6-inches longer than any compact car or compact car parking spot. Turn radius? Effectively larger then you would expect. Go wide in parking lots.

So, with all my dislikes, why do I like it? Well, the steering is too loose, especially on the highway (I like it tight, with no central dead-zone), and there is body roll... and I already have problems with the brakes (simple fix). It feels right. The acceleration from rest feels right, the cornering feels right, cruising feels right. I feel completely in control. The car behaves as it should.

In comparison. Mother's Cadillac is bulky. I feel as I have to physically push it around corners. Body roll likens it to a boat in rough seas. Not to mention its V8 being all together lethargic.

My good friend has a Jetta VR6 with sport suspension. I LOVE that car. It's quick, it slingshots around corners, and it's solid. And it WANTS to go faster (fast is good. faster is gooder). But it feels too unforgiving at times, kinda as if it wants to control you. Feels a bit like a monster (I say that with a devilish grin on my face).

The Alero is spirited. It responds without any fuzzy logic transmission trying to learn how you drive (jetta) or without sucking all the adrenaline from above your neck (cadillac). It lacks pizazzz in acceleration from highway speeds, but it is electronically limited to 107 mph, so I guess it doesn't matter.

My heavy footed acceleration comes at a cost, however. That V6 will get good gas mileage, but not with my foot. Want to do 90 on the freeway? You will SEE the needle on the fuel gage move toward empty. Wise city driving, $40 every month on gas. My city driving, $20 every week, and I don't even race it. I just like feeling that punch at the green light.

Other things to know: I agree with the review on the trunk lid design... Wipe all snow off the trunklid and rear window before opening. Electronic traction control is good (great according to one article here), but the car is still quite worthless in snow (especially in central PA). I have spun out doing 45 on the freeway (that was fun), only because I misjudged the thickness of the snow in the next lane over. The car is fine, thankfully. I have had to replace the ignition switch (how does THAT happen?), and the brake rotors need to be replaced (see an article on that under 2000 Alero, easy fix).

PROS: large interior, good leg room, looks good, decent cargo capacity (esp. with rear seats down), spirited in the city, good handling on the highway, LOW insurance, horrible resell value (good if you are the second-hand buyer). All around fun car to drive (with v6). Later, it will make a good test bed for experimentation, such as putting in a manual tranny, ghetto-izing it, painting the Nittany Lion on the hood, removing the governor, increasing the horsepower... get the hint?

CONS: marginal head room, no telescopic steering column, large turn radius, larger than compact, V6 COULD get good gas mileage.

Bottom line: fun city driving, darting to and fro. Fun highway cruisin' if you like cruise control. (it rhymes!)

Amount Paid (US$): 9000
Condition: Used
Model Year: 2003
Model and Options: GL2 V6, 4-spd auto